Organizations Can Boost Training Effectiveness by 180%. Most Never Will.

Organizations can improve the effectiveness of their learning by over 180% simply by implementing proper transfer techniques (Wilson Learning, 2024). Yet less than 15-20% of knowledge and skills acquired in training institutes typically transfer to the workplace (International Journal of Training and Development, 2011).

What they missed is that they're measuring transfer from artificial training environments that don’t resemble actual work pressures. As someone who facilitates skill-development workshops, I see something fundamentally different happening when participants learn through COTS games. The transfer isn't just higher, it's more natural.

Where This Research Hits Home

Wilson Learning analyzed 32 studies comparing training seminars alone versus training plus transfer activities. Their findings identify the most effective transfer techniques:

• Manager support and coaching (26-67% improvement)

• Peer support (32-70% improvement)

• Clear job connection (8-37% improvement)

• Practice and modeling (15-22% improvement)

  
  

What I like about this research is how it perfectly describes what happens naturally in game-based learning workshops. When I facilitate sessions using games like Overcooked or Civilization, participants aren't just learning skills in isolation. They're practicing them in authentic scenarios while peers observe, support, and learn from each other's approaches. The game creates the job connection automatically.

What The Researchers Should Have Studied But Didn't

The research focuses heavily on organizational factors supporting transfer like manager coaching, peer support, learning culture. But what if the training tool itself could naturally incorporate these elements?

In my experience, I've seen participants struggle initially with new game content, but then something magical happens during our debriefs. When the conversation shifts to "How does this connect with what you do daily?" those lightbulb moments emerge. One of my more recent examples came when an instructor was playing a game with their students and noticed how their communication patterns changed under stress. Even though they had taught the communications class for years, they expressed that they had never been in a situation with students where they had to actually “practice what they preach”. Not only did the instructor have the opportunity to put on a master class in communication under pressure, but the students expressed that they felt a lot more comfortable around them afterwards.

Recent training transfer research emphasizes that "the seamless transition of learning from training environments to practical application" requires intentional bridging activities (Intellek, 2024). I believe structured reflection after gaming sessions serves exactly this function, but the researchers haven't studied this bridge-building process specifically.

Toy brain being held by hand. - Wix Stock Photos

The Bigger Question This Raises

If Wilson Learning is right that organizations can achieve 180% improvement through proper transfer techniques, COTS games might be delivering many of these techniques by default. Consider this, games inherently involve peer learning, immediate feedback, and authentic problem-solving.

This makes me suspect the notoriously low 15-20% transfer rate partly reflects the artificial nature of traditional training methods (simulations, scripts, and role playing). When participants learn communication skills through PowerPoint presentations versus collaborating to manage a restaurant in Overcooked, which creates stronger neural pathways to workplace application?

Could we be solving the transfer problem by accident by using COTS games? While traditional training struggles to create authentic practice environments, games excel at generating genuine pressure, time constraints, and collaboration challenges.

What This Means for Game-Based Skill Development

Based on this research, L&D professionals should consider three critical factors when designing skill development programs:

First, how authentic is your practice environment? The research shows clear job connection dramatically improves transfer. COTS games excel here because they create genuine pressure situations that participants immediately recognize as similar to their work challenges.

Second, are you building in peer learning opportunities? Wilson Learning found peer support has the highest impact on transfer (32-70% improvement). Game-based learning naturally facilitates this through shared challenges and collaborative problem-solving that traditional training struggles to replicate.

Third, how are you structuring reflection and application planning? While the research emphasizes organizational support for transfer, I suspect the reflection process immediately following authentic practice might be equally critical for cementing connections between game experiences and job performance.

The Practical Laboratory Test

If this research is accurate, then in COTS workshops we should see higher transfer rates when we combine authentic gaming scenarios with structured reflection and explicit workplace connections. I predict that participants who engage in guided reflection after gaming sessions will demonstrate better skill application than those who experience games without this bridging process.

Based on these findings, I suspect we might not need to wait for organizational culture changes to improve transfer. By selecting games that naturally incorporate peer learning, authentic practice, and immediate feedback, we could potentially achieve significant transfer improvements regardless of broader organizational support.

What this means for measuring learning outcomes is that we should track not only skill acquisition during training, but behavior change in work situations. Games provide the authentic practice environment, reflection builds the bridge to application, and real workplace observation confirms the transfer.

Tracking behavior change across an organization is monumental task, but wouldn’t it be worth it if you had the ability to document the improvements to your entire company?

Test These Ideas With Your Team

The evidence suggests that combining authentic practice environments with intentional transfer techniques could dramatically improve your training ROI. Games might just be the missing piece that makes Wilson Learning's 180% improvement achievable.

Curious how these research insights could transform your team's skill development approach? Let's design an experiment that puts these findings to the test and measures actual transfer to workplace performance.